Love Always Matters
by ReJo
Summary: Danny and Lindsay have broken up and they struggle to at least be friends again. Is it possible? Is more than friendship possible?
1. Cold and Numb

**LOVE ALWAYS MATTERS**

**Angst/Romance**

**Story Summary: Danny and Lindsay have broken up and they struggle to at least be friends again. Is it possible? Is more than friendship possible? **I wrote a one-shot that was totally angsty ("Two Words"). I'm definitely going to leave it as is, but this multi-chapter fic is based on that one. This is a bit more in-depth, but has a much happier ending.

**A/N: **I hate having two stories going at once. This one is going to be short. I refuse to write another 16-chapter fic any time soon. I don't think I have it in me. But then again, I never keep my word, so this might turn into a 30-chapter fic (just kidding!) I want to keep it short or I fear its tone will change. I'm thinking about five chapters. The weird thing is that while I was writing this, Laurzz posted a story that was just like it, and she did a great job, too! I hope you enjoy mine as well  BTW, thanks for your input, Laurzz!

**CHAPTER 1 – Cold and numb**

It was getting easier for them to work together. She didn't avoid him anymore and working with him no longer threw her into a panic. She was getting used to not being part of the dynamic duo, but she had to admit that their names still flowed together: _DannyandLindsay_. There was no more Danny and Lindsay _in that way_. They were just coworkers.

It was very hard on her when they broke up, but she knew that it was for the best. Men like Danny Messer have a short attention span unless a woman has all of the bells and whistles she didn't feel she had. But she knew that she was enough for someone and she made no apologies for not being _enough_ for Danny Messer. When she thought about it, he didn't have enough to offer her, either. She wasn't asking for forever, but while they were together she demanded his complete attention. If they actually did have a shot at having a long-term relationship, he had blown it and had relegated himself to being a temporary fixture in her life.

She'd be lying if she said she was glad they were through. Although they were two very flawed individuals with a lot of emotional baggage, for the short time they were together they _fit_. But over time she could see that he was pulling away; she was not getting a return on her emotional investment. And Ruben's death signaled the death of their relationship, or what was left of it. When he pushed her away after that, she gave him the time he said he needed, but he never reached out to her for comfort. He was doing much better now, so he had received comfort from someone, but not from her.

She had been through break-ups before, but she wasn't able to make a clean break this time since she still had to see him at work. The hardest part was that it was so well-known that they had been a couple but no one knew that they had broken up, so someone was always asking about the other or making jokes about being in love, or finding Mr. or Ms. Right, or something that was equally painful to someone with a fresh emotional wound.

**CSI:NY**

Please let me know what you think!


	2. So Close, Yet So Far

**LOVE ALWAYS MATTERS**

**CHAPTER 2 – So Close, Yet So Far**

Detective Bruce Mahoney, III, walked down the hall side by side with Detectives Mac Taylor and Don Flack. The Richmond case had been reopened after 32 years and he had been assigned to the cold case with the third generation detective as the lead. He was only 30 years old, but being brought up in a cop family had seasoned him a bit, so he was serious, but he hadn't yet become jaded. That was why he and Don had become such good friends so quickly. Don knew what it was like being raised by a cop too, for better or for worse, and he also had experience trying to extricate himself from his father's shadow. He had to work doubly hard to gain the respect of the department, starting by not letting the veterans call him 'Junior' or 'Don's boy.'

As the three detectives determinedly strode down the hall toward the DNA lab to see if there was any viable DNA that could be processed, Bruce, who was ever intent on the subject at hand, noticed two women talking inside the lab, one with chin-length hair talking to a woman whom he had previously met, Stella Bonasera. He first met Stella when he first came on the force and she led the class on working with crime scene investigators.

Stella and the other woman were having an animated discussion. As the threesome entered the lab, he could hear that everything the shorter woman said seemed to be rebutted by Stella. He couldn't deny that both women seemed equally as passionate, although there was no animosity between them.

Stella was facing the entrance to the lab and Lindsay had her back to it. Stella's eyes followed the detectives into the room and Lindsay, noticing her distracted coworker, turned to see who had entered. She saw two familiar faces and one unfamiliar face.

Stella greeted them, trying to remember the third detective's name. She smiled and introduced herself and Lindsay, but noticed that she did not have Bruce's full attention. He was trying not to stare at Lindsay, but it was obvious to everyone that his mind was on the younger CSI.

Mac introduced the detective to the ladies. "Stella, Lindsay, this is Detective Bruce Mahoney. He's been assigned to work the Richmond case which has been a cold case for 32 years. I'm sorry, Stella, I'm going to have to pull Lindsay from you to work with Bruce on this case. The sooner we wrap this one up, the sooner we can move on to our 31 year old unsolved cases."

Danny, who had been in the lab the whole time, looked up at the mention of Bruce and Lindsay working together. He knew Bruce from hanging out with Flack – when he used to hang out with Flack. Bruce was a good guy, a decent guy. He knew that he didn't know Lindsay, but if he had to put her with someone, it would be him. Therefore, Bruce was not one of his favorite people. He had no right to feel the jealousy (was it really jealousy?) that caused him to dislike the guy. It wasn't just Bruce, it was any guy whom he thought would be good for her and would keep her. Lord knows that he couldn't keep her. Did he sabotage their relationship or did it die a natural death? He chose to believe the latter, but there was a niggling suspicion that it was the former. Believing that he had sabotaged the relationship would mean he would have to figure out why he did so and he would have to acknowledge that he gave up a relationship that had the potential to last. Yes, it was much easier to believe that his and Lindsay's relationship was just another relationship.


	3. Lay It On the Line

**BITTERSWEET**

**CHAPTER 3 – Lay It On the Line**

Stella continued working on what was now _her_ case since her partner had been pulled. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Danny. He was so quiet that she forgot he was there, but he was and she could tell that something was on his mind besides work. Could he still be harboring feelings for Lindsay? Probably.

She couldn't believe the way things ended between them. There was no big blowout or fantastic meltdown. She talked to Lindsay and knew that she didn't want it to end, but she didn't have a choice. Danny simply walked away in a very passive manner by letting their budding relationship waste away; he didn't put any time, energy, or passion into it. Stella knew that it was none of her business, but as a woman, she couldn't help but empathize with Lindsay.

She still loved Danny as a brother, although he wasn't really himself after the breakup. It was as if he expected to be shamed for obviously withholding his affection from Lindsay; he became bitter and withdrawn. Even he and Flack no longer hung out. He had accused Flack of encouraging various men to ask Lindsay out, and Flack told him that since he caused the demise of his and Lindsay's relationship, Lindsay's life was no longer any business of his. Danny was livid and when the dust settled they were no longer best friends.

**CSI:NY**

In the lab, Lindsay shared her findings with Bruce. There were very few samples to test and the samples that were tested were too degraded to be useful. The other pieces of evidence were going to have to be used if this case was going to be cracked. Lindsay turned to Bruce to acquaint herself with him since it seemed as if this investigation was far from over and they would be working together for some time to come.

"So, Detective, where are you from?"

"Brooklyn. And you?"

She smiled devilishly and asked, "Would you be surprised if I said Brooklyn?"

Bruce laughed. "I'd be surprised if you said you were from anywhere in New York, or the Northeast for that matter."

She laughed at her own poor attempt to trick her new coworker. "And you'd be right. I'm from Montana. I've been here for three years now. And don't bother asking me why I moved here – it's a long, complicated story that would only bore you."

"In that case, I'll skip the history questions and move on to the here and now. Maybe that will be more interesting. How do you like New York?"

Lindsay shrugged. "It's growing on me. I've had my ups and downs here, but overall, I might stay for another year or two before it's time to move on again."

"What? And leave the greatest place on the planet?"

"Well, I happen to know of some other places that can compete quite nicely with New York."

"You talking about New Jersey?"

Lindsay laughed. He couldn't be serious.

"Have you even been to Jersey?"

"No, I haven't been to New Jersey yet. I can't say that I've heard anything good about it."

A voice from the back of the lab piped in, "And for good reason."

They both turned to look at Danny who had interrupted their conversation.

"I'm just saying, what does Jersey have that compares to New York? Nada." Danny resumed his work as if he had not stopped. They both wisely chose to ignore his remark.

"Of course you haven't heard anything good about Jersey – you've probably only talked to New Yorkers. I was born here, but I spent a lot of time with my mother's family in Jersey. If you ask a New Jerseyan about New Yorkers, I'm sure you won't hear too many kind words, either. Look, one day I might have to bring you to the Garden State and show you why almost nine million people call it home."

Without raising his eyes from his evidence, Danny said, "He's asking you out, Montana." He didn't try to hide his acrid tone.

Lindsay's eyes shifted from Bruce to Danny, and back to Bruce. "Oh. Ummm…I'll have to get back to you on that one."

Both she and Bruce had enough of Danny's intrusions. Lindsay excused herself from Bruce and walked to the back to talk to Danny and whispered, "Danny, what's your problem? I'm having a conversation with the detec…"

"I'm just saying, he's asking you out. I can't help it if the man has no game. I had to call him on it."

Lindsay was seething at this point. "Danny, don't do this. You're the one who lost interest in _us_, remember? You don't get to be jealous. If a man shows interest in me, don't get mad because it was _your_ decision for us to be apart…"

"No, _you're_ the one who said it was over, not me, and if you think…"

"Danny! Please! Stop it! This is over. Finished. You got what you wanted, and you moved on, only _you_ didn't have the balls to end it. That was left for me to do. I had to leave to keep my dignity. You certainly gave me no reason to stay." Her calm exasperation was apparent when she continued with a less animated, much lower voice. "I want you to leave me alone. You've already proven that you're good at it."

With that, Lindsay turned on her heels and walked over to Bruce and asked, "Do you want to go to lunch?"

Bruce was quite shocked to see the display between the two. They were far enough away so that he couldn't hear what was going on, but he could tell that their discussion was personal and intimate, but definitely not friendly. He didn't want to get in the middle of whatever was going on between them, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to go to lunch with Lindsay.


	4. Mama Mia!

**BITTERSWEET**

**CHAPTER 4 – Mama Mia!**

**CSI:NY**

Lindsay and Bruce had gone to lunch quite a bit and had hung out together after work, but as no more than friends. She could tell from Danny's groans and smart aleck comments that he thought they were more, but she never bothered to correct him. Still, she wondered why it bothered him so much that she might have possibly moved on with her life. He should have been glad that someone else had to deal with her instead of him.

As the end of the shift approached, the team finalized their plans to go out on a Friday night. When Danny saw that Lindsay had returned to her desk, he cautiously entered the office, walked over to her and asked, "Are you coming out with us tonight?"

Lindsay couldn't believe he was asking her that. Since they had broken up, she never went out with the rest of the team if she knew Danny would be there, and now that she and Bruce were friends she felt awkward because at some point she knew that someone would bring him up and Danny would make a remark about him that would set her off. And as much as they tried not to, someone usually made a reference to Danny's girlfriend. Lindsay had to admit that it stung. She didn't even want to think about exactly when Trista came into the picture. Was she the reason for Danny's loss of interest in her? She didn't want to think about it.

She had to give Danny some credit – he never brought her up, but when someone referred to her he seemed very uneasy; he was very tuned in to how she would feel. At least now her feelings were important to him. Lindsay could feel herself getting more and more bitter as these thoughts raced through her mind.

"Montana?" He snapped his fingers within her line of vision and drew her out of her reverie.

"Oh, sorry. Ummm…no…I won't be going tonight. I have things to do at home," she said distractedly.

"You seem to have a lot of things to do at home lately. What's going on like that? Is that code for 'I've got a date'?"

Lindsay glared at him and rolled her eyes. "If I had a date I would have said I had a date. Not that it's any of _your_ business."

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but why do you feel as if you have to choose between having a boyfriend and hanging out with your friends, I mean, look at me. I have a…. What I meant to say is you don't have to choose. One day things aren't going to be so awkward between us. I promise you. And one day there won't be a 'Bruce' in the picture, then what are you going to do? I mean, really, what's so great about Bruce anyway?"

"Who I choose to spend my time with is none of your business and you don't have a say as to who I let into my life. Need I remind you _again _that you're the one who chose not to be together?" she hissed at him.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't believe that he started this argument _again. _ Why did he care about her…boyfriend? (It still pained him to think about her with another man.)

"The real reason is that I miss you, okay? I mean, I know that you have a….a…a boyfriend," he spat the last word out. "The least we can do is to try to be friends again." He looked at her and saw the tears pooling in her eyes.

Lindsay silently thought, "No, this is not happening. Why am I crying? I would only be crying if I still had _those_ kinds of feelings for him. I can't still feel that way." That thought made the tears fall, and she rose to address him.

"Danny, I don't want to be around you anymore. I can't. And you want to be friends? Who's to say that you won't lose interest in me as friend? I'm not willing to take that risk again. I'm sorry."

She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, shook her head, turned around and walked away from him.

**CSI:NY**

She decided to stay downtown to see if Stella was right about retail therapy. She didn't want to go home and felt this would help to clear her mind.

She fingered a teal cashmere sweater with one hand and held the price tag with the other. Noticing the red dot on the tag, she looked at the sign on the center of the rack and found that the red dot indicated a 40 percent reduction. Before she could rejoice in her find, her eyes drifted to a woman standing on the opposite side of the rack who was looking at the other side of the price reduction sign. Lindsay quickly tried to figure out how she could escape the store without being seen by the woman, but before she could mentally map out her escape route, she was spotted.

"Lindsay?"

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Messer." Lindsay had met Danny's mother once before. She was a nice lady, but she was the last person Lindsay wanted to talk to today.

"I thought that was you. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has. How have you been?"

"I'm fine. Better than my son, I hear." She approached Lindsay and said in a whisper, "You know, dear, you broke his heart when you broke up with him. He hasn't been the same since. He still talks about you, you know."

Lindsay didn't know how to respond to that. What exactly did Danny tell his mother? She didn't have to wonder for long. Mrs. Messer turned out to be very forthcoming.

"I know that it's none of my business, but I thought you two were so good for each other! What happened?"

The uneasiness on Lindsay's face didn't faze her, as she was not going to let up on her line of questioning. Still, she wanted to clear up some things because Danny had clearly only told his mother half of the story.

"Mrs. Messer, I don't mean to be rude, but that's between Danny and me. But for the record, your son lost interest in me, in _us_. I can't make him want to be with me, and I wouldn't even if I could."

"_Make him want to be with you? _ Are you serious? He never lost interest in you and you definitely don't have to make him want to be with you. He was over just this past Sunday almost in tears telling me that you were going out with another guy…"

She was now so upset that her resolve not to discuss any of this with Mrs. Messer was totally gone. She was angry.

"He said what? He's going out with _Trista_, or whatever her name is, and I don't know if he was going out with her while he and I were going out, but he certainly didn't have time for me."

"Trista? He never told me about a Trista, he only talks about you and some Bruce fellow."

"Oh, my goodness! I can't believe that he told you all of this! No offense, but if Danny had talked to me while we were together instead of you, then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Mrs. Messer was confused. As far as she knew, her son and Lindsay had a great relationship until the day that Lindsay ended it. She had only heard good things about her until that point. And when she decided to take up with Bruce…

"I tried to keep it together, I really did, but he didn't want to spend time with me anymore and he rebuffed all of my displays of affection. He didn't want to be with me, but he didn't want to be the one to break up either, so he left it for me to do."

Both women's eyes were beginning to fill with tears. Lindsay was left to grapple with the fact that she had just lost it in the middle of a department store with her ex-boyfriend's mother. She never thought she would be one of those women who would give in to a fit of histrionics in public, but she did.

"Come on, Lindsay. Let's have a talk."

With that, the two went for a walk and ended up in a café talking about the enigma that is Danny.

"You see, Lindsay, some men, especially my Danny, get complacent. He got you then he got lazy; forgot that it takes just as much to keep you as it took to get you. I don't understand it and hopefully I never will. All that I can tell you is that what you two had was not just another relationship to Danny. He took you for granted, but he was definitely in love."

"I don't think…"

"Yes, he's in love with you and he didn't appreciate you. He was wrong, and I know first hand what it's like to live with a man who doesn't appreciate you, but it does change. I guess it's easier to stick it out when you're married because then you have so much at stake. You're not as willing to give up at the first hint of real trouble…"

"But we're not married and Danny never said anything about forever, so I had no reason to fight any harder than I did…" Lindsay wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Lindsay, I'm not blaming you. Danny had just as much, if not more, responsibility to keep this going. I say that he had more because he told _me_ how much you meant to him and he didn't tell you, and apparently he didn't show it."

Mrs. Messer ran her fingers through her hair in frustration thinking back on the conversations she had with her son where he doted on Lindsay, and how leading up to the time they broke up he hadn't talked about her as much, although she always asked about her. How could she have missed that?

"Mrs. Messer, what's done is done. It's too late to go back and fix things with Danny. We've been apart for a while now and I'm just starting to learn to live without him…"

"Sweetie, your tears tell me otherwise. Do you care for him?"

"I'll always care for him…"

"Do you love him?"

Lindsay thought, _Damn her! She has the same intense eyes that her son has. It's impossible to look away._

"Lindsay, _do you love him?"_

Lindsay struggled to answer. "I…I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters. Love always matters!"

Lindsay looked at her, and for the first time gave herself permission to feel for Danny something other than bitterness. She immediately regretted it as her tears gave way to heaving sobs.

Mrs. Messer got up and sat next to Lindsay and embraced her.

"Don't worry, dear, I have a Messer at home, too, and over the years he's driven me to tears more times than I'd like to admit. But guess what? He's worth it. And I promise that Danny's worth your tears too."

She rubbed the younger woman's back and silently comforted her.

As Lindsay calmed down she began to wonder if what she and Danny had was worth another chance.


	5. He Said, She Said

**LOVE ALWAYS MATTERS**

**CHAPTER 5 – He Said, She Said**

**CSI:NY**

Danny wondered why this relationship was so different. Lindsay was so important to him, but he did not feel as if it was necessary to let her know how much. He had her and he thought his work was done. Sometimes he didn't feel like being a boyfriend. It didn't mean that he wanted to be with another woman, but being tied to a woman at those times felt like a noose. He had known plenty of men whose relationships had survived for decades by merely giving their wives flowers a couple of times a year. It worked for his father – his mother was still with him and she wasn't going anywhere. She must have been satisfied.

At first he blamed Lindsay for leaving. She had him; she had to know that. He was in it for the long haul as long as there wasn't too much work involved. In his previous relationships when he felt a little smothered he pulled away. Far away. But that trick didn't work for him this time. This time she left. This time she moved on. Usually, that wouldn't have been a problem, but her absence was like a gaping maw.

He couldn't admit to himself how much he cared for her and how lost he felt when she left. He figured it was her, not him, and thought he'd take a break from women and then resume his search for a woman who understood him and wasn't so needy. At some point he met Trista. She was nice and accepted living on the periphery of his life. He called her when he felt like it and when he didn't, well, he didn't. It didn't take him long to realize that the thing he had with Lindsay was a lot deeper than he cared to admit. He didn't want her in his life because she worked well with his schedule. He wanted her in his life because she made him feel…how _did_ she make him feel? He couldn't label it. She could challenge him without making him feel as if he had to defend his manhood, which took a lot of pressure off of him. Maintaining one's machismo in the workplace was exhausting, so being able to go home and just be himself was truly a godsend. Lindsay was a godsend.

That didn't mean that she was perfect. Sure, she was moody and she could be vindictive at times. She was also one of the most infuriating perfectionists he had ever met. Despite this, he still wanted her in his life. He made up his mind to get her back.

**CSI:NY**

He saw her through the large glass window sitting alone at a table for two. He knew that she'd be there. She always spent her first off day at this diner, drinking a strawberry smoothie and eating a grilled chicken Panini with fries. He grabbed the door handle which activated the chime that announced his entrance and headed straight to the small table by the window. He stood opposite the sole occupant.

"Hi, Lindsay." He put his hand on the back of the chair across from her. "May I?"

Lindsay nodded, but he noticed that she hesitated before doing so. Still, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to clear the air with her. "I think we should talk, you know, about us."

She wanted to give him her stock blow-off answer and tell him that there was nothing to talk about, but there was a lot to talk about, a lot more than she wanted to admit, especially since the conversation she'd had with his mother. Even though she was hopefully ambivalent about her relationship she still harbored some bitterness toward Danny and still wanted say or do something to hurt him as much as she had been hurt. Instead of opening her mouth and risking saying something that might stop any potential healing that could occur, she just nodded again to signal him to speak.

Danny didn't speak immediately. He tried to read her emotions to ascertain how to best broach the subject of their failed relationship. He was unaware of the conversation she had with his mother, but if he had been aware, he would have known that he was already halfway back into her life, if only he didn't screw it up.

"Lindsay, I'm sorry for the way things turned out between us. I know that it was my fault. I shut you out and I gave you no choice but to leave, and I'm sorry for that. I've been paying for it ever since. I miss you more than you could possibly know. I hope we can at least be friends again, and hang out, and…"

She couldn't believe that he would want to for settle being friends again. She was actually wondering if she had made a mistake, questioning her actions, and he just wanted to be friends?

"No we can't! Don't you get it? I can't work backwards, not with you! I can't go from being your girlfriend to being just friends with you. I wish I could, believe me, but I can't. I've worked too hard to distance myself from you emotionally – some good that did me – and I'm still a mess."

Despite her harsh words, he was quite happy that she did not make a move to walk out on him. Maybe they would be able to make some headway in mending their relationship after all. He had finally admitted to himself that he caused the demise of their relationship and once he did that, it wasn't long before he stopped denying that he wanted to be with her again. Before he approached her he had some work to do, like figuring out why he sabotaged a perfectly good relationship. When he was honest with himself about that he knew that it was time to make amends with Lindsay.

But first, hehad to reconnect with his old friend, Don Flack.Flack didn't make it easy. It took quite a bit of time and quite a few beers before he even entertained the idea of hanging out with Danny again, but seeing a contrite Danny eventually won him over. It wasn't often that he got to see his friend show humility, so he couldn't hold out for long. Danny listened to his lecture on how to treat a friend and how to treat a girlfriend. Danny proved to be deficient in both areas and admitted that had gotten him into the mess he was currently in.

Now, Danny had to choose his words carefully in order to reach his goal – to have Lindsay back in his life. Sure, he would settle for being friends, but since she said that was out of the question, he had to go for the ultimate payoff – having her as his girlfriend again.

**CSI:NY**

"Lindsay, I have to be honest with you – I don't want to be friends with you, either." He saw the hurt look on her face and then quickly added, "I want _us_ to be _us_ again." He waited for his words to sink in. The fact that she didn't walk out on him gave him hope. But still, they had a lot to talk about.

"Danny, do you know what you want? Your wants seem to change with the weather. I'm not sure I can depend on you."

"You can depend on me, Lindsay. Believe me, you have no idea how much you mean to me. I won't take you for granted again."

"You're saying that now. And what happens when you get what you want again and then you get bored? I'm worth more than that, Danny.

"Babe, I have to be hones with you. I've had some bad role models. That's how my dad treats my mom, that's how my uncles treat my aunts. All I can tell you is that I'm going to do better. I promise. This is new territory for me, so I need you to be patient with me and maybe slap some sense into me at times."

Lindsay still wasn't satisfied.

"What about Trista?"

"Trista is not and never was an issue."

"What do you mean she was never an issue? She was and is an issue for me. I have to know when you started seeing her and when you stopped – _if_ you stopped."

"Of course I stopped seeing her! Do you think I'd try to get back together with you if I was still going out with someone else? She and I…dated…for a very short time. I met her a couple of weeks after we broke up, at a bar…"

"A bar? Please don't tell me that she's a bartender."

"No, she's a waitress. Anyway, we broke up about three weeks later."

"Hmmm. What happened there?"

He looked at her thoughtfully. "She's not you."

He fidgeted with the salt shaker and proceeded to ask, "How are things going between you and Bruce?"

"For the record, Bruce and I never went out as more than friends. I can't say it didn't cross my mind to be more than friends with him. I was lonely, and I did bring it up. He said that he was tempted but he knew that after he saw us talking and giving each other ugly glares that there was unfinished business between us and he didn't want to be a used as a distraction. He was right. I was trying to use him and that wasn't fair. He never said it, but I'm pretty sure that's why he's been avoiding me. I think he lost respect for me."

"Hmmm. So you let me go on believing that you and Bruce…"

"No, you believed what you wanted to believe. I just didn't correct you."

"That was low, Montana."

"That wasn't any of your business, Danny."

"Okay, okay. It was none of my business. I'm sorry for asking. I have one more question, though. Did you really mean it when you said that you were leaving in a year or two? 'Cuz I'd hate to think I'd have to move out of New York because you need new scenery…"

Lindsay laughed. "As if you'd ever leave New York!"

"I would – for _you_."

"Danny, I'm not going anywhere if I have a reason to stay. Do I have a reason to stay?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"If you think I'm a good enough reason to stay."

"I might stick around for a while."


	6. Flack in the Middle, Mama on the Side

**LOVE ALWAYS MATTERS**

**A/N: **Close, but no cigar. I tried to stop at chapter 5. That was supposed to be my last chapter. THIS is my final chapter. I've got to get back to my other story for which I've lost all inspiration. This story has been a sweet distraction. Thanks to all of the readers, especially those who sent me feedback!

**CHAPTER 6 – Flack in the Middle, Mama on the Side**

Don Flack entered Lindsay's office and sat in Danny's seat where Lindsay was having a working lunch at her desk. Danny was off, so this was a good time for him to pry.

"So, Linds, how's things going between you and Dan?"

"They're coming along," she responded without taking her eyes off of her monitor.

"What, no wedding bells yet?"

"No! Where'd you get an idea like that?"

_That got her attention._

"After the way I tore into him, I'm surprised that he didn't pop the question that day."

"Well, I'm not that easy. He's trying, but we both have some things to work out. I've acquired some trust issues from the last go-round, so you won't hear any bells this quickly. Maybe one day, but not now. He learned the old way of keeping 'his woman' happy, and it's going to take a long time to 'un-learn' that."

"I hear you. Just don't close your mind to the possibilities…"

"I'm trying not to, but it's not as if we can pick up where we left off. There was a lot of damage done."

"You know, Danny wasn't the only one at fault…"

"I know, Flack."

"You _did_ let him think you were dating Bruce, and for a while Bruce thought he had a chance with you, and he still asks about you."

"_Ugh! _ Don't remind me. How is Bruce, by the way? I haven't talked to him since…"

"He's alright. He told me that he always knew there was some history between you and Danny but he didn't want to believe that it would still be an issue. He came to realize that wounds that were that deep weren't made nor healed overnight. He really liked you, you know."

"Yeah, I know. That wasn't one of my best moments. I'm trying to forget it."

Flack took the hint and moved on.

**CSI:NY**

With his head held in his hands, he sat on the plastic-covered sofa while his mother looked at him pitifully. How would she help her son who had so much to lose? She knew that he had tried to get back what he had with Lindsay, but it was reminiscent of her finding her favorite mug when she realized that one of her children had broken it and glued it back together – it was never the same. It's 'scars' were there forever. Its value didn't diminish in her eyes, though. It remained in her china cabinet even though it wasn't china. She showed it off for all of her guests to see. It was just a mug, but the fact that it went through and survived the trauma that her kids heaped upon it ensured that it would be a keepsake and would not go the way of all of her other mugs. Its weaknesses made it special. How could she explain that to Danny and Lindsay? After all, it was just a cracked mug held together with caked-on glue.

"Danny, listen to me. You have to realize that you were trying to recreate your father's and my relationship. What we do works for us. I've learned to deal with your father and the way that he is, but girls today have learned to tell guys what they want from them. I was raised to make myself as desirable as possible, hope some guy married me, and have babies. That's it. You can't use that formula now. Women have options."

"Well, maybe they shouldn't…"

"But they _do_. And you wouldn't want Lindsay any other way, would you?"

He shrugged. "But why is she making it so hard?"

"_You_ broke your relationship, now _you_ have to fix it and be patient while she learns to trust you again. She's still feeling as if you're going to withhold your love from her."

"How do you know that? What? Do you read minds now?"

"No." She paused and averted her eyes. "I talked to her."

"When?"

"Don't worry about when. Just know that she still has feelings for you even though you acted like a complete moron like your father. If you want her back, you're going to have to convince her that you deserve a second chance, you need to do a lot better than you've been doing. Girls like Lindsay might give a second chance, but not a third."

**CSI:NY**

"I need more, Montana." He answered the questions that she silently asked.

"I need to know that we're going to be together, even if I screw up, which I'm bound to do." He tilted her chin up. "Lindsay, as much as I wanted it to be, I'm not just passing time here. I need to know that you'll be patient with me or that you'll kick my ass when I need it."

She smirked briefly. "But I shouldn't _have_ to do all of that, Danny," she said softly.

"I guess you need to decide if I'm worth the effort."

She saw how determined he was. "So, no complaints when I kick your ass?"

"Of course I'll complain. Then I'll remember what I could lose and I'll kiss you. Like this…"

He kissed her neck, which made her giggle then pretend to protest.

"Stop it, Danny!"

"Or like this…"

He kissed the other side of her neck.

"Danny!"

"Or like this…"

He grabbed her tightly to him and kissed her lips. They eventually pulled away and looked at each other seriously.

"It's going to take some time for us to get back where we were, Danny."

"We will, Linds. We will."

Yes, it's the end. Everything wasn't resolved, but I didn't want this to be too sugary. Please let me know if you liked it or if you didn't. Thanks for sticking with my story!


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